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Vermont Floods: What to Know - The New York Times

Forecasters are warning of more rain in the coming days after the state was inundated by a deluge.

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A two-day storm dumped more than eight inches of rain on some parts of the state.Hilary Swift for The New York Times

After a powerful storm that dumped as much as nine inches of rain on parts of Vermont, residents in cities and towns across the state are only beginning to grapple with the destruction caused by the flooding unleashed by the deluge.

Though skies have cleared since Monday’s storm, and rivers have crested, officials are warning residents to remain on alert as more rain is expected in the coming days.

Here’s what to know about the flooding:

The storm first struck New York State on Sunday, with one death attributed to fast-moving floodwaters there. Within only four hours, more than seven inches of rain fell at West Point. Several train lines in the state, such as Metro-North’s Hudson and Harlem lines, were suspended on Monday as a result of fallen trees, mud and boulders blocking the tracks.

The system then headed north into New England, causing severe flooding and forcing hundreds of people to evacuate their homes in Vermont.

At least two of Vermont’s rivers — the Winooski, which runs through Vermont’s capital, Montpelier, and the Lamoille — surpassed levels that they had reached during Tropical Storm Irene in 2011.

The flooding shut down major roads and state highways, and city officials in Montpelier issued an emergency order on Tuesday temporarily closing the flooded downtown area.

Gov. Phil Scott of Vermont described the flooding as “historic and catastrophic” and said on Tuesday that thousands of residents had lost their homes, businesses and more.

As of Wednesday morning, Vermont officials said that no injuries or deaths had been reported, but they cautioned that rescues were still ongoing.

“I think we all understand that we are now living through the worst natural disaster to impact the state of Vermont since 1927, when dozens of people died,” Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont said on Wednesday, referring to the catastrophic floods that hit the state that year.

More than 200 rescues had been carried out, officials said on Wednesday, as teams used boats and helicopters to pull people from flooded homes and cars.

Jennifer Morrison of the Vermont Department of Public Safety said on Wednesday that the state was already in “much better shape” than it was a day before.

One of the biggest worries this week was whether the Wrightsville Dam, just north of downtown Montpelier, would exceed its capacity.

William Fraser, the Montpelier city manager, had said on Tuesday that the dam was nearly full and could potentially spill into the North Branch River.

“This has never happened since the dam was built, so there is no precedent for potential damage,” he said.

By Tuesday afternoon, city officials said that the water was only a foot below the dam’s auxiliary spillway, but that the rate at which the water was rising had slowed.

The water began to drop through the night, though Mr. Scott said on Wednesday that officials would keep a close eye on the dam over the next several days.

The flooding and storm debris also forced the closure of dozens of roads across the state, including Interstate 89, which was shut down on Monday night, stranding many motorists overnight.

Officials said Wednesday that they had begun compiling reports of damage and destroyed infrastructure.

But with some areas in Vermont still hard to reach and the damage spread over a large area, officials said they would need time before they could give a full account of the toll on homes, businesses, roads, bridges and other infrastructure.

Chief Eric W. Nordenson of the Montpelier Police Department said Tuesday that the city’s resources had initially been “spread very thin” by the calls for help.

In other towns, such as Londonderry, which was heavily affected by the flooding on Monday, the cleanup was already underway as of Tuesday afternoon.

In New York, officials on Monday estimated that the damage would likely run into the tens of millions of dollars to repair.

“My friends, this is the new normal,” Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York said on Monday, referring to climate change’s effect on flooding. People must “be prepared for the worst,” she said, “because the worst continues to happen.”

According to the National Weather Service, Wednesday is forecast to be generally sunny across Vermont. However, showers and thunderstorms are possible on Thursday, along with a slight risk of excessive rain — described as “a few additional inches” — across much of Vermont, New Hampshire and eastern New York.

Mr. Scott warned on Wednesday that, though the sun was shining and the water in some areas was receding, the episode was not over.

“With rain in the forecast, and nowhere for it to go, we could see waters rise again,” he said.

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